small tortoiseshell vs Sphecid wasp

Aglais urticae compared with Ectemnius cephalotes

Key Differences

• small tortoiseshell is Near Threatened while Sphecid wasp is Least Concern.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	small tortoiseshell	Sphecid wasp
Kingdom same	Animalia (Animals)	Animalia (Animals)
Phylum same	Arthropoda (Arthropods)	Arthropoda (Arthropods)
Class same	Insecta (Insects)	Insecta (Insects)
Order	Lepidoptera (Butterflies & Moths)	Hymenoptera (Ants, Bees & Wasps)
Family	Nymphalidae (Brush-footed Butterflies)	Crabronidae
Genus	Aglais	Ectemnius
Species	Aglais urticae	Ectemnius cephalotes

Evolutionary Relationship

small tortoiseshell and Sphecid wasp share a common ancestor at the Class level: Insecta. (Insects)

Conservation Status

small tortoiseshell

NT — Near Threatened

Sphecid wasp

LC — Least Concern

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	small tortoiseshell	Sphecid wasp
Diet	—	—
Average Lifespan	—	—
Average Length	—	—
Average Weight	—	—

Habitat & Geographic Range

small tortoiseshell

Habitat

Typically found in virtually all terrestrial and freshwater habitats.

Range

Found across Europe (41 countries). Listed as Near Threatened, this species requires ongoing monitoring to prevent population decline.

Sphecid wasp

Habitat

Typically found in virtually all terrestrial and freshwater habitats.

Range

Distributed across Belgium, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, and United States.

small tortoiseshell

small tortoiseshell (Aglais urticae) is classified as Near Threatened (NT) on the IUCN Red List. Close to qualifying as threatened, with populations that may become vulnerable without conservation action.

Shared Countries

Both species can be found in 4 countries:

🇧🇪 Belgium 🇩🇰 Denmark 🇳🇴 Norway 🇸🇪 Sweden